Production lines for vehicle manufacture require devices to open and close vehicle hoods rapidly and reliably without causing damage to vehicle hoods. While open, vehicle hoods also need to be secure to prevent falls or unintended releases. Vehicle hood opening and closing devices also need to move with vehicles down production lines while maintaining the vehicle hoods in an open position.
Accordingly, a need exists for devices and methods for rapidly and reliably opening and closing vehicle hoods without causing damage to vehicle hoods and preventing unintended releases of open vehicle hoods.